DUPAGE ARTS.

Hinsdale Arts Center branches out with classes in Naperville

August 08, 2001|By Lynn Van Matre, Tribune staff reporter.

The Hinsdale Center for the Arts has expanded its programming to include classes at two more off-site locations.

The non-profit regional arts agency, which launches its fall 2001 season Aug. 27, has entered programming partnerships with the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville and the Community House in Hinsdale.

Courses and workshops for children and adults at the Community House begin this month, and classes for youngsters at the Naperville site are expected to start in late fall.

"Both organizations came to us and asked us to help them provide arts programming," said Kathryn Humphreys, director of education and public programs at the center. "We'll be watching and evaluating the partnerships to see how they meet community needs."

The arts center, 5903 S. County Line Rd., inaugurated its partnership program last fall at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove. According to Humphreys, the off-site experiment proved so popular that the center has increased its fall offerings at the YMCA.

The center will offer more than 115 classes, workshops and lectures in music, art, dance, creative writing and theater during the fall season.

Programs being presented for the first time include a critique workshop for adult writers, workshops for children in puppetry and collage, classes on colored-pencil painting and courses in children's book illustration, jewelry design, poetry and theater appreciation.

Talks by lecturers from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago will include "Contemporary Photography," "Chicago's Outdoor Public Sculptures" and "Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art?"

Offerings include classes that meet for six to eight weeks, programs that meet for four weeks and one-day workshops. Courses are scheduled on weekdays and weekends during day and evening hours and are available for all ages and abilities.

Students may register in person or by mail, phone or fax. For information or to request a free copy of the fall 2001-winter 2002 catalog, call the center at 630-887-0203.

Art exchange: Paintings by German artist Bodo Gsedl, a former exchange student at West Chicago High School, are on exhibit through Sept. 29 at West Chicago Printing Co., 131 Fremont St.

The show, presented by the non-profit West Chicago Sister Cities organization, is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays.

Gsedl, who lives in Taufkirchen, Germany, attended West Chicago High in 1976-77.

In 1998, he and his twin brother, Uwe, initiated an official sister city relationship between Taufkirchen and West Chicago, where Uwe now lives.

The former exchange student said he hopes to organize an exhibit in Taufkirchen of works by West Chicago artists. He credits an art course he took at the high school with fostering his interest in painting.

The exhibit features about 20 oil portraits and landscapes and is sponsored by the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, the Lions Club and private donors.

For information, call West Chicago Printing at 630-293-0500.

Music and coffee: Singer, songwriter and storyteller Bryan Dagenhart will perform at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Two Way Street Coffee House, 1047 Curtiss St., Downers Grove.

Tickets are $3 at the door. For information, call 630-969-9720 or visit the Web site at www.twowaystreet.org.

Dagenhart, who launched his musical career in 1964, has a wide repertoire that includes traditional folk ballads, sea chanteys and English dance hall songs. He is working on two new recordings.

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Send arts and entertainment news and story ideas to lvanmatre@tribune.com; or fax to 630-368-4266, Attn: Van Matre.